Liquidators

Worrells referrer admits to conduct failure

The public examination of persons related to the failure of Waltek Industries has again exposed the vulnerabilities inherent in the referral relationship, vulnerabilities which if ignored can rebound. Louttit & Associates’ Jamieson Louttit has been conducting examinations into the curious circumstances of Waltek’s near simultaneous incorporation and failure in June 2015, assisted with funding from the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) recovery division. His predecessors on…


McKenna ousted by court after resisting creditors

A resolution put to a meeting of creditors by an owners corporation seeking the removal of Henry McKenna as liquidator of Iris Diversified Property Pty Ltd has been confirmed by the NSW Supreme Court this week. On Tuesday, June 6, 218 Justice Ashley Black ordered that the soon-to-be ex-Jirsch Sutherland partner be replaced by O’Brien Palmer’s Chris Palmer and Liam Bailey and that the incoming appointees’ costs by…


ARITA expels third member in two months

Whilst INO is loath to encourage a perception that it should change its masthead to “Expulsion Monthly”, it behoves us to report that the Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association (ARITA) has cast out another member, the third such eructation since April. The latest to fall foul of the ARITA Code of Professional Practice is Queensland practitioner Justin James Cadman, who readers may recall was…


Gauge of consent means joint need not be several

Insolvent trading actions might be rare but they can have a galvanising effect on directors, as evidenced by the findings of his honour Judge Matthew Dicker of the NSW District Court in the matter of Inner West Demolition (NSW) Pty Limited v Silk [2018] NSWDC 136. In this instance Inner West Demolition initiated proceedings seeking to prise $327,332.50 under s 588M of the Corporations Act…


FH trio beset by foes as pot ‘o dollars grows

Having identified more than $60 million in potential recoveries, it’s no surprise that the liquidators of Australian Institute of Professional Education Pty Ltd (AIPE) are battling on various fronts in both attack and defensive modes. Ferrier Hodgson’s (FH) Morgan Kelly, George Georges and Ryan Eagle were appointed by way of a voluntary winding up under section 491 0f the Corporations Act on 6 October 2016. Since then…


Concurrent appointment almost trips Worrells partner

Nick Cooper is apparently on the verge of extracting himself from an unfortunate stoush with a former bankrupt who launched proceedings against the Worrells’ partner in the South Australian District Court. Cooper told INO yesterday that the matter was the subject of a confidential settlement in the final stages of being agreed to but that it involved an ATO debt and a caveat he’d lodged over property…


Litigation funders reluctant while receivers rule

Availability of and access to litigation funders is one of the biggest challenges for liquidators and while funder numbers have swelled in recent years it doesn’t mean the dollars are easier to find. Liquidator Michael Hird has spent considerable time trying to attract a backer willing to underwrite examinations of some of the directors of the failed Allmine Group, a search outlined in convenient detail…


Ostwald COI looking to oust PwC pair over circular

It’s been an eventful time for PwC’s Derrick Vickers and Sam Marsden as they conduct what in their view is the orderly winding up of the affairs of the Ostwald Brothers construction group and the trend is continuing with a meeting of creditors called for June 12 which could see the pair ousted over a contentious circular. The PwC duo were appointed voluntary administrators (VA) of Queensland-based Ostwald Bros…


PPB Advisory pair succeed in Palmer asset freeze

This is fresh out of the Supreme Court of Queensland, courtesy of Justice John Bond. “Parbery v QNI Metals Pty Ltd [2018] QSC 107 Summary of judgment This summary is not a substitute for the published reasons for judgment of the Supreme Court of Queensland. Nor may it be used in any later consideration of those reasons. The only authoritative pronouncement of the Court’s reasons…


Promotion: AIIP Conference tackles big questions

Some of the profession’s most pressing questions will be explored and potential solutions debated at the inaugural Association of Independent Insolvency Practitioners (AIIP) Conference to be held next month in Canberra. Questions around safe harbour; pre-packs; litigation funding, law reform and what the future might have in store will all be canvassed at the Disruption in the Insolvency Industry Conference on June 28 and 29…